BRICS Summit proves West cannot isolate Russia – Lavrov

The recent BRICS Summit in Kazan showed the futility of Western attempts to isolate Russia, and proved that many countries are unhappy with the US waging “sanctions wars,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Delegations from 35 countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America, as well as representatives from the UN and other organizations, arrived in Russia last month for the annual BRICS Summit. It was the first to be held since the group’s expansion earlier this year, when Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates officially became members, joining Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

“The 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan was, without exaggeration, one of the most significant international events not only this year, but in recent times,” Lavrov said on Tuesday in an interview with Rossiya Segodnya news agency.

According to the foreign minister, participants felt it was held in an atmosphere of “friendship, openness and mutual respect.” Asked about summit results and the group’s plans, Lavrov said they were clearly reflected in the Kazan Declaration, adopted at the gathering.

“Among other things, it clearly sets out the commitment of the participating countries to promote positive changes in the global economy and politics with the aim of creating a more just and balanced world order, reform global governance institutions and effectively address global issues,” he said.

Lavrov also highlighted parts of the declaration relating to adapting the global financial system to “modern realities,” while increasing the role of developing countries and encouraging closer interbank cooperation.

This involves boosting the share of national currencies in mutual settlements and creating independent payment platforms and insurance mechanisms in BRICS, he said.

All of these steps will ultimately lead to the formation of a payment instrument that is “not subject to external risks,” Lavrov predicted, noting “increased interest” in such a plan from non-Western states.

The Russian minister added that during the extended Outreach/BRICS Plus format session, the heads of delegations from countries of the Global South “openly expressed indignation at the US authorities’ increasingly strong line in recent years on using the dollar as an instrument for waging sanction wars against those states whose policies, for one reason or another, the Americans did not like.” 

Asked about BRICS’ new ‘partner country’ status, Lavrov said that the criteria were approved in Kazan, and work is underway on the issue, with results expected before the end of the year.